Julia Kabat

Centre for Painting SAFIM Assistant Curator for Painting

Julia Kabat was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Kabat is the SAFIM (South African Friends of the Israel Museum) Assistant Curator for Painting and is enrolled in the Curatorial Training Programme in the Centre for Curatorial Excellence at Zeitz MOCAA.

As the SAFIM (South African Friends of the Israel Museum) Assistant Curator for Painting at the Zeitz MOCAA, Kabat is part of a team of Assistant Curators who primarily coordinate the overall exhibition process from its’ conceptualization to its final execution. During this process, Kabat works closely with the museum’s Chief Curator and the artists whose work is either part of the museum’s collection or part a temporary exhibition. Furthermore, Kabat also conducts research, focusing on artists and their practices, along with composing accompanying exhibition texts. Kabat is currently working on Nandipha Mntambo’s solo exhibition, Material Value that was part of at the Grand Public Opening in September 2017.

In 2016, she was awarded a full scholarship from the Andrew Mellon Foundation, where she obtained her Honours in Curatorial Studies from the Centre for Curating the Archive at the University of Cape Town with distinction (2017). During her curatorial studies, she was selected for an internship with Dr. Siona O’ Connell where she assisted with O’ Connell’s nationally travelling exhibition, Promises and Lies: The ANC in Exile.

Prior to her curatorial studies in 2016 Kabat obtained her Bachelors Degree in Fine Art with a distinction in Studiowork and the overall degree with distinction, majoring in Printmaking and Sculpture from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, UCT, Cape Town. That same year Kabat received the Directors Award from the School for her thorough involvement and dedication towards student leadership. During her time at The Michaelis School of Fine Art, Kabat assisted with various academic studio-based practices and tutored Artistic Discourse at The University of Cape Town.

One of her earlier achievements in academia also include the Amy Steyl Award for excellence in Design and Visual Art (2011). Recently, Kabat was awarded a fully funded 3-month internship by the South African Friends of the Israel Museum (SAFIM) at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This internship saw Kabat working at Israel’s largest cultural institution, where she gained valuable insight and knowledge from numerous departments at this encyclopaedic museum.